Bob's World

Thursday, January 24, 2008

We live in interesting times

It's 2008 and we are living in interesting times. Of course, that depends whether you've got a stake on the stock market or involved in the financial market. If you are a doctor or an engineer or whatever other profession with no bloody idea about financial market or where the economy is heading, you might reply "What interesting time? You mean there is a new programme on the TV?"

Anyway, I have been following the news lately and this is what happened:

On Tuesday (22 January 08) during lunch, just when I was finishing my sandwich on my table in front of my computer, news came in that the Feds (it's not some dude name Fed. It's the US Federal Reserve) made a 0.75% cut in interest rate from 4.25% to 3.5% to boost the ailing global stock market. Here is the news. Before the announcement, Bursa Malaysia composite index closed with 54 points lower as most of the stocks took a beating as a result of negative market sentiment towards the possibility of a US recession. So, I would have assumed that if any of you have any shares on Bursa Malaysia that day, you might have had your jaws dropped and shed some hairs as a result of the under pressure caused by the market. In any case, the market bounced back after the Thaipusam holiday on 24 January 08 taking into the effect of the Fed's rate cut.

"What is so interesting about the rate cut? Does it affect you?" one of my friend asked when I told him the latest development even before finished my sandwich.

As I've said earlier, the rate cut wouldn't be interesting if you are not involve in the financial market or you just don't give a hoot about the economy so long as your employer continue to feed you with monthly salary so you can go home and watch your television/ porn on your big fat ass over a couple of beers. It affects me in a way because I am involved in the financial market. I took interest because it affects the economy and it commands my future earning and ability to spend (so is yours and anyone in the world). So, just because you are in another country, it doesn't mean you are not affected.

Anyway, the rate cut was only short lived in Europe and it didn't stop the fall on Wall Street on that day itself. Probably traders panicked due to the large cut. It was indeed a big rate cut, biggest cut in 26 years. The sudden rate cut seems to suggest that the Fed panicked. Panicked enough to go onto the offensive.

So why is it we are living in interesting times?

It's interesting because the world have changed so much since I was wearing diapers. When I started schooling, Black Monday came into the picture. When I was starting to leave high school and move on to college, the Asian Financial Crisis came and it became my case study in school. When I graduate from university, dot com companies came crashing down and I ran into a little trouble getting a job. Last year there was credit crunch thankfully I've still got a job. I have lived through and witness from one crisis to another and I am already drawing to the third decade of my life. Looks like there is more to come. Anything could have happened.

That's why we are living in an interesting time. Anything could have happened and the probability for that is much higher compared to our parent's time. The world continues to evolve and we get surprises once in a few years. Who would have thought there would be a credit crunch? Who would have thought that US Fed led a big rate cut when I was just enjoying my sandwich during lunch? Who would have thought that a rouge trader could send French Bank Societe Generale a loss of £3.7 billion? (which makes the legendary rouge trader Nick Leeson - with loss of £0.8 billion - look like an amateur).

Like I've said, we are living in interesting times. Anything could have happened.

Additional notes: This morning's news (25 Jan 08) seems to suggest that the rouge trader from Societe Generale may have possibly contributed to the stock market crash on 21 January 08 (when the bank decide to dump the shares onto the market to reduce losses arising from the fraud when detected over the weekend). If that is true, Nick Leeson (who brought Barings Bank down) is nothing compare to this rouge trader who brought the entire stock market down.

Recruitment Drive

Note: The following is a journal entry of a fictional CEO of ABC company:

I have just finished my meeting with my human resource team. Since the company is expanding, we need more people. In fact, I am very pleased with the recruitment strategy proposed and the advertisement prepared by the human resource team. At least I know I am paying good money to these people. The advert goes as follows:

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JOB OPPORTUNITY

ABC is a leading company in the industry and is seeking to expand over the next few years. We are currently looking for talented people to support this growth. Opportunities available as follows:

Position: Junior Analyst

We are looking for enthusiastic people with the passion to excel with the company. The candidate must be willing to put in the extra hours and has superb analytical skills. The candidate must be a team player and willing to support other team members, not limiting to photocopying documents, buying lunch/ dinner, making coffee and tea, and other value added roles. Drive for personal development and ability to adept changes is a must.

You must have a recognised university degree with an excellent academic track record. Experience in the industry will be an added advantage.

Max gross pay of RM2,100 a month.

Position: Managers/ Senior Managers

We are looking for people with lots of contacts and guarantee that they can bring in existing clients to the company. The candidate must be able to present themselves among clients and display ability to interact with people in order to seek marketing opportunities.

University degree and professional qualification are not important and does not add any advantage for this position.

Analytical skills are not required as you will be supported by a team of junior analyst.

Candidate must be able to work effectively via smart delegation.

Ability to suck-up to the boss is an added advantage.

Candidates will be tested for their ability to bullshit as part of the requirement for the above position.

Min gross pay of RM10,000 a month with company benefits such as car allowance and healthcare benefits.

Successful candidate will be notified. If you have not heard from us within 3 days of your application, that means you have failed our CV screening test.

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So far, I have received hundreds of enquiries for Managers and Senior Managers position but only one enquiry for Junior Analyst position. I am not sure the reason for the lack of response for the Junior Analyst position since we are paying above market rate! Perhaps I should not fire the temporary trainee (for mistakenly calling me the janitor) and promote her to Junior Analyst as a short term measure to the shortage of Junior Analyst. She is lucky…for now.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Somerset House

I was in a foul mood last week. It’s winter. It's cold. It gets dark by 3 pm. There is less sunlight during the day. I had been busy ever since the start of 2008. It does not help when you have ‘punany’ neighbours, who decide to smoke along the staircase hallway (illegal by law) and stupid enough to leave a trail of ashes up to their flat door to tell the whole world that they are the bloody culprit. Here is my entry on 16 January 2008 if you don’t know what or who the ‘punanies’ are.

I was on a verge of putting on my Spartan amour and gather an army to give the punanies a special 'treat' they will never forget.

Warning to punany neighbbours. Do not test my temper. Source picture from the movie 300.

Then weekend came and Kay decides to organise an ice skating event with some of our friends at Somerset House. I wasn’t too keen at first given my long week of foul mood. I am not a good skater to start of with. I am not keen on the idea having to balance myself on two cleaver/ knife/ blades - whatever you call it.

In any case, Kay had already booked the tickets and paid for it. So, there is no turning back.

When I first walked into the skating ring, I held on tight to the rail to balance myself. Then I let go my hand and started to glide through the skating ring while my hands held up in the air, swinging around like a monkey as I attempt to keep my balance. I was really struggling to keep up until Kay turn up.

“Don’t stand straight up. Bend down a little and it will keep you well balance” she said.

I tried and it was a miracle! It worked! I started skating without much worry about falling off on my ass. And to put it simply, the trick not just use your head or your ass when you skate. You use both your head and ass to balance your body. In no time, I was beginning to feel like a professional skater like Will Ferrell on Blades of Glory!

On second thought, maybe not.
Anyway, it wasn’t as bad as what I had imagine. I had a great time though it was really tiring at the end of it. Here is a short video clip of the scene at Somerset House.

Monday, January 21, 2008

What’s tasty in Munich?

It has been a while since I have last gave a review/ recommend some of the European food. Today, Bob’s World will bring you to Munich to enjoy the taste of meat, pickled vegetables and wheat beer.

Munich is a remarkable place. The people are friendly. The food is fantastic. What more could I ask for? Personally, I ranked the Munich as one of the must visit place if any of you are going to travel to Germany. However, in this post I am just going to focus my review on German cuisine and the place to dine.

Ratskeller

The restaurant which serves local Bavarian food is located at Marienplatz hiding beneath the historic Rathaus. The food quality is good and the potion is fairly big for an Asian. I am not sure about dinner but lunch time could get really busy, so you could either make a reservation or get there early to secure a place.

Germany is well-known for its sausages (Wurst). It is a noble and highly respected part of German cuisine. So, please treat it with respect and not as if it is another Hot Dog Special from your local Ramli Burger stalls. Sausages are served with pickled cabbage (Sauerkraut) and in my case, mashed potatoes (taste more like potato puree but I am not complaining). Unfortunately, I could not remember the name for each of the sausages. But I am sure you can ask the waiter at Ratskeller to recommend.

When it comes to duck, I have only known the Chinese style roast duck you get back home in Malaysia or the Hong Kong crispy roast duck you get in Chinatown in London. Ratskeller offered an alternative perspective, German style roast duck. Ratskeller roast duck comes with Blaukraut (red cabbage sauerkraut) and dumplings (bound together by flour and potato).

Wirtshaus in der Au

Located at Lilienstrasse, Wirtshaus in der Au is a pub restaurant which serves Bavarian cuisine. I suggest you should either get there early or make a reservation because you might not get a place. Food quality is superb and the staffs are friendly. Problem is, the main dish is not as generous as Ratskeller. So you might want to go for dessert as well.

If you just really fancy sausages and have not had enough of it, go for the Auer farmer sausages. Portion is small (since there is only three pieces) but the meat is juicy. Like all wurst dishes, it is served with sauerkraut.

Another dish you might fancy is a portion of suckling pig. The suckling pig’s meat is tender and its skin is crispy. The dish is served with garlic flavoured dumpling.

If there is room, go for the desserts because they are really good. Recommended desserts are ice-cream dumpling filled with appricot served in straberry sauce with roasted almonds….

… and flamed creme with cranberry and pear ice-cream.

Weissbier or wheat beer, which, of course is made of wheat rather than barley is a must try when you are visiting Munich. To add the atmosphere into your beer drinking experience, make sure you have it at the beer garden. Sometime it is served with lemon (giving it a sweet flavour like Shandy) or you may opt for dark wheat beer (personally I haven’t tried it but the colour is much darker compared to other wheat beer.

Overall, I am pleased with the quality and the friendly service. There are other foods that you should try as well when you are there, such as the pork knuckle and schnitzel (pork or chicken breast – pounded flat - coated with breadcrumbs and pan-fried), which is a well-known dish at Ratskellar. If you ask me, I would give 8 out of 10 for both of the restaurants.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Naked Body Massage

Now that I have caught your attention, let’s start with today’s post. No, I am not giving you one nor am I receiving one from anyone. Actually, I just want to comment on something I stumbled upon while browsing the STAR website the other day:-

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Friday January 18, 2008

Youth arrested for sodomising friend (By BERNARD SEE)

PENANG: A youth was arrested for allegedly sodomising his friend while giving him a massage at an apartment in Sungai Nibong here.

George Town OCPD Asst Comm Azam Abd Hamid said the duo, aged 18 and 20, had gone out for dinner before going to the older youth's apartment at about 10pm on Thursday.

"While in the house, the youth decided to give his friend a naked body massage. He then proceeded to sodomise the latter before allowing him to leave.